Good News… I suggest you Read this article "Many Cutbacks But Not for Straight Teeth" to start your year off on a positive note.  Even though the article was published months ago, it is still relevant in 2010.

The good news is parents with disposable income, even during tough economic times, feel straightening their kids teeth is still a high priority when it comes to the personal development of  their kids and a good return on investment.  A great smile sends a message to people both socially and in the business environment today.

In a society that places extraordinary value on appearance, orthodontics is increasingly seen as a necessity, not a luxury, and even though the number of patients undergoing orthodontic treatment declined since the start of the recession, many families are going to great lengths to keep tooth-straightening in their budgets.

"The latest figures from the American Association of Orthodontists, compiled before the recession began, counted about 4 million patients younger than 18 in North America in treatment in 2006, up from 2.6 million in 1989. Experts say the number has dropped recently."  I recently heard the population is down as much as 10%  in the past few years which is a double whammy coupled with the recession.

The article also quotes Paul Zuelke and Roger Levin on their take of the current economic environment facing orthodontic practices today and the stats they are seeing around the country with their clients.

All is not bleak.  Hunker down and pay attention to your marketing strategies, customer service, and latest Internet marketing trends to get your marketing message across to prospective new patients.  Now is not the time to cut back on your marketing efforts at the beginning of a new year, but to grease the wheels on an effective marketing program to grab your piece of the shrinking orthodontic pie in 2010.

Like all bad weather, the storm will eventually pass.  When the clouds clear, where will your practice be standing?  High and dry ready to seize the day with all your marketing strategies in place or muddling your way along in low standing water trying to figure out a way to dry off.  If you are still trying to figure it all out or doing nothing, let me help you bring it into perspective.

What do you see happening in your area?  Is the worst over or you do you see the sun starting to come out again. Leave a comment below to share with others or just offer an opinion.

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment. Fools stand on their island opportunities and look toward another land. There is no other land, there is no other life but this.”

My present has always created my future in whatever I accomplished throughout my orthodontic career:

• When I helped create an orthodontic practice management software system with a Zerox computer Geek in 1982 that saved time and improved collections with contract billing. I tried to promote it to other orthodontic practices in the area, but they laughed.
• In 1991, when we brought in a Baby Dolphin Imaging System as a marketing tool to impress new patients, it was almost 10 yrs before someone else in the area followed suit. 
• In 1998, when I set up our first website, the competition didn't come around until six or seven years later.
• In 2005, I coordinated the installation of a fully intergrated paperless orthodontic practice management software program which included digital marketing and radiography.  Patients are very impressed.
• In 2009, now out on my own as an Internet marketing consultant,  the majority of orthodontic competitors in the area are pushed off organic #1 page ranking on Google with a proactive PR Orthodontic Internet Marketing campaign by Get It Straight.

The practice has been #1 in the area for over 25 years and will continue to do so by living in the present… whether I am there as a member of the team or not.

Ride the wave of present time and take advantage of the Internet to become your own PR director for your practice.  The past few years have been rough, but the economy is starting to turn around.  Be thankful. You have weathered the storm!  Now, live in the present and make sure you are maximizing your Internet marketing presence to build your future with new growth.

I found this video below on current music trends on YouTube.  As with everything new and innovative, it will take some time for this to catch on, but the time will come when musicians will produce classical, jazz, pop, rock, hip hop… whatever… with a combo electrical string, keyboard, and wind instrument.  This group I predict will explode into the music culture because they were the first.  They may not ultimately be the best with the learning curve and you may not like it, but they are the first to try and already are creating a big stir.

My second favorite quote…

"It's not the BIG that eat the small, it's the fast that eat the SLOW!"  Jason Jennings

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have much to be thankful for this year, especially you my readers and my clients who understand the benefit of taking full advantage of the Internet. 

Koodos to you…Much success!

We're all guilty of being perfectionists at one time or another. However, in orthodontic marketing it can be detrimental…

It's appropriate to strive for a perfect Class I occlusion when treating orthodontic patients or in my case,  the perfect Web 2.0 Internet marketing program to catapult your practice to page one on Google in a highly competitive area. That's okay… Being anal-retentive about some things in our life is normal, and maybe even necessary for our emotional well-being.

On the other hand, being a perfectionist about your orthodontic marketing programs, especially a website… is something you simply CANNOT afford to do. It could takes months, maybe over a year to get it completed to your satisfaction and up on the Internet. If you are guilty of this, stop RIGHT NOW.  I mean it! Put up your right hand and repeat after me, "I do solemnly swear to never again spend hours polishing up my new marketing programs, website content, or Internet video promotion to a perfection level. Starting now."

It may seem odd that I would actually discuss the virtues of creating imperfect orthodontic marketing programs. But think about it — why do people want to read your website? Is is for the amazing grammatical prowess it demonstrates on every conceivable subject in orthodontics?  No. It's for the orthodontic content they can easily find on page one of Google when looking for an orthodontic treatment provider.

• The sooner you content is online, the more readership you're going to attract
• The more readership you attract, the more exposure you receive
• The more exposure you receive, the more traffic to your website
• The more traffic to your website, the more new patient appointments your schedule;
• The more new patient calls you schedule, the more new patient starts you convert to increase production

What do you think? Are you guilty of being a perfectionist who slows down the orthodontic marketing momentum of your practice?
What has perfectionism cost you in terms of lost exposure, lost opportunities, and increase revenue?

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies.  It is OK to fail forward in your orthodontic marketing when building your practice.  This is how we learn, grow, and build the business of our dreams.  If a program doesn't work, get rid of it… if it needs improvement polish it up.  In many cases new patients won't even know the difference when all is said and done. 

Just get yourself out there as fast as you can and stay ahead of your competition during these tough economic times.

Leave a comment and let me know if you are one of the guilty parties like myself…

An excellent orthodontic marketing and business article is available on OrthodonticProductsOnline.com. For those of you who are not reading this publication on a regular basis, you should be.  I have been reading it for years and always found it to be a wealth of information.  The publication is FREE… all you have to due is sign up.  They will mail a copy to the office and/or you can access the articles and archives online.

The article I suggest you read was written by Brett Blake, president and CEO of Acceptx Financial Solutions Inc.  This article is a "Must Read" not only for orthodontists, but financial coordinators and TC's as well.

If you are already implementing the smart business and marketing practices Brett mentions… I applaud you.  The article linked below will reinforce your savvy business acumen.  If you aren't, it's time to put all your ducks in a row to move forward in 2009-2010 as we start to close the first decade and keep them in place, even when times are tough. 

There is one comment I would like to add, however, after reading this article.  Not only has financial behavioral changes occurred in today's Gen X and Gen Y generations, so has their buying habits and how you engage them. 

Embracing new technologies today includes marketing on the Internet.  Many mortgage buyers who are in trouble now paying their mortgages were influenced and enticed by information and research easily found on the Internet.  In the long run, the banking industry and our economy has suffered serious injury due to its bad practices and greed… 

However, think of this from another angle…  The banking industry jumped on social networking, word of mouth, and online marketing tactics to promote their great rates to entice new customers and succeeded.  The Internet was a very successful marketing tool.  Taking advantage of the Internet as a marketing tool not only increases your ability to inform consumers who your are and what you are all about… it is less expensive and allows you to reach a much larger demographic.  Your Internet marketing program is the umbrella under which prospective new patients view your practice and your marketing message.  Are you taking advantage of it? And if so, can your patients find you?  Include Internet marketing when putting all your ducks in a row. 

Thanks Brett for your insight and here's to your business success in 2009!  Read the article here…

Think of the ONE orthodontic Marketing programs you wanted to start or finish in the past year… but your perfectionism has crippled and even paralyzed your progress.

I myself am guilty of the this.  My new mantra for 2009 is "Speed To Market" with my new products for Internet marketing.  Whenever I find myself paralyzed in a moment trying to make everything perfect, I am going to remind myself "sloppy success is better than perfect mediocrity."

Why is this so?  In the current economic crisis, you can't wait to figure out how to attract new patients if you want to survive, let alone build your practice in 2009.  Internet marketing is still virgin territory and no one has all the answers.  Visionary practices who move or "fail" forward, even if the don't totally understand the current tech savvy market, SEO, and how Internet marketing, video, and social networking will promote their business, will be the first to corner the new patient market looking for treatment options on the Internet.  There are still families with disposable income requiring orthodontic and dental treatment.  How are you going to drive them to your practice rather than the competition?   

No one explains the key to being productive and moving forward better than one of my business coaches Alex Mandossian.  He was always driving this point home during my coaching classes.  Watch and listen yourself,  so you too can become more productive faster, smarter, and with less effort.   December 17th post AlexMandossian.com.   

After you watch his video, please post your comment.

Acceptx is an online automated financial solution for medical and dental practices across the US and… a TC's or financial co-ordinator's dream come true.  I had the opportunity to sit through a private demonstration of the online system at the AAO in Denver in May.  Where was this service when I was a TC for over 20 years? 

During the NP process, I always felt the most cumbersome and uncomfortable moment was presentation of finances.  There was no quick and easy way to present payment options to perspective patients without first banging away on a calculator to determine appropriate financial arrangements.  Insurance coverage complicated the issue along with determining the correct schedule based on credit rating and family budget. I would often watch out of the corner of my eye, many a parent trying to read my handwriting upside down… as they anxiously awaited the verdict while I completed the process. 

Acceptx and its upcoming parternship with Paul Zuelke has simplified the process by providing doctors the ability to make decisions about the fees, financial terms, collection practices and banking once… then automating the process so TC's can quickly and efficiently present payment options or recalculate again to meet the personal needs of the patient.

From a practice management perspective, the program increases practice cash flow and profitability.  Bottom line…Acceptx enables doctors, treatment coordinators, and financial coordinators the ability to quickly present fee options that are attractive to your patients, substantially reducing your default rate and increasing new starts.

I highly recommend this inexpensive service provided by Acceptx for marketing savvy practices looking to streamline the new patient process and make an ordinary new patient experience EXTRAordinary… in the eyes of a tech savvy patient or parent.

1. Interpersonal communications – How staff members relate to one another and your patients… can make or break your practice.
2. Teamwork and commitment – Your group "Code of Honor" defines how team members interact, how they treat one another, responsibility to the team, and how to handle a member who isn't fully supporting the team.
3. Efficiencies and precision – Eliminating interpersonal conflict, petty personal issues, and the need for the 'management police' is a powerful empowering process for everyone, both doctor and staff members.

The reason I am blogging about this today is because I have been following Tim's raves and rantings since the NESO meeting on his blog hufactor.com .  After managing a practice for over 30 years, I understand the day to day workings and pitfalls encountered when building a cohesive team and trying to improve performance for the betterment of everyone. It was the most challenging aspect of my career.

Currently, Tim is offering Free video training on areas of his program and a copy of the "Code of Honor" that I recommend you sign up for download and read.  Whether you are a nuclear power plant, and insurance agency, or and orthodontic practice "The Precepts of Practicing Perfection" are the same:

1. Things are the way they are because they got that way
2. 84 – 94 percent of all human error can be directly attributed to process, programmatic, or organizational issues
3. People come to work wanting to do a good job
4. The people who do the work are the ones who have the answers.

Discovering how to build your practice on these precepts as your foundation, I feel, would be an amazing experience.  Charles Post DMD, of Keene, NH contracted the services of The Practicing Perfection Institute to improve the team environment and performance of his orthodontic practice in 2006.   He wanted to try something new to improve efficiency, build the practice and improve job satisfaction for the entire team.  He was able to accomplish this with Tim's program. Dr. Post comments, "Practicing Perfection has been a transformation that has refocused us all on patient priority while giving everyone valuable methods and systems to reduce errors in all areas." 

Since delivery of treatment and customer service are the two most important factors to consider in the developement of your marketing plan, consider taking advantage of this unique online opportunity that is being offered now from HU 2.0 , along with his new online program that is soon to be released. 

I read a great article today, written by Linda Talley: The Leadership Coach.  It is short, to the point and I would like to share it with you. 

Keep in mind, when reading this post, how members of your orthodontic team, including yourself, would measure up….  Every member of the team, at some point in time, finds themselves in a position to lead or manage.  I found it very enlightening.

1. When you are in a meeting, and someone mentions the word “Change,”  you ask how much it will cost.
2. When a salesperson brings in a new product idea, you ask what the downside will be.
3. When a diversity issue arises within the practice, you ask how it will affect the bottom line.
4. When an idea comes along to completely reinvent the customer service department, you ask what the competition is doing in this area.
5. Staff is required to obtain approval on everything!
6. You’re more interested in reporting short term results.
7. You get nervous with staff members who want to take the company “out on a limb.”
8. You feel there is no difference between the parenting you do at home and at the office.
9. You are depressed at the end of the day if you feel like anything or anyone got out of control, didn’t show up, or didn’t do their portion.
10. You liked the way the company was running 10 years ago rather than how it is today.

Orthodontic practices whose marketing and management strategies are run by managers, will always remain "Ordinary."  Orthodontic practices  whose strategies are implemented by leaders, can't help but become "ExtraOrdinary."

How does your practice measure up?

How much time does it really take to backup all your computer files?

Some options to look for when considering an online service are:

You can never be too carefull….

With the recent fires in California destroying many homes and businesses, I think this would be a good time to review recommended computer backup procedures for your orthodontic practice. Mother Nature can be very cruel and you never know when she may strike next.